Of Ivory Towers  Or Red Is the Color of Innocence
by Tatau
Summary: Fraser's sick and tired of everyone treating him as naive and quixotic. Enter cocktease!Fraser, thick on innuendos and flirtatious behavior. The victim? Ray Kowalski, obviously. The result? Hot sex, hopefully. The methods? All's fair in love an war
1. Chapter 1

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or red is the color of innocence**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ PG-13

_**Words:**_ ~ 1.600

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

_**Notes:**_ Written for the ds_aprilfools round 2011, Prompt 07: defining moment

_**Summary:**_Fraser's sick and tired of everyone treating him as naive and quixotic. Enter cocktease!Fraser, thick on innuendos and flirtatious behavior - never impolite, though. The victim? Ray Kowalski, obviously. The result? Hot sex, hopefully. The methods? You know what they say: All's fair in love and war.

**Part 1: And it's only just begun**

"Man, you should've seen her. She was totally into me!" Dewey protested.

"In you? What was she blind and deaf?" Ray asked. Huey wisely refrained from saying anything but it looked to Fraser as if he agreed with Ray.

"Fuck you, Kowalski. I'm serious! She was totally gagging for it!"

Three pair of eyes wandered over to rest on Fraser. He sighed inwardly.

"For what?" he asked as was expected.

"Ah, doesn't matter!"

"He's Canadian!"

"Leave the Mountie alone!"

Fraser clenched his teeth. Choosing to abstain from crude jokes and pointing out how nonsensical some of these colorful expressions were did not mean that Fraser didn't understand their talk. In that respect his uniform and his mannerism seemed to work like a shield – everyone wanted to believe him as innocent therefore he had to be.

Oh, he knew that he wasn't completely blameless. Ray would say that he led people on, that he made them believe he was this untainted, pristine model saint. It wasn't true though – not completely at least. People thought he was like that and he simply never proved them wrong. No one ever expected him to grasp the cruder meaning and he never corrected them – it worked in his favor, mostly.

But it got really old after a while. Especially those last few weeks. From the moment Huey and Dewey had to work on a case concerning prostitutes and call-girls the jokes and the insinuations had reached a new low – and Fraser himself seemed to be the butt of the joke more times than not.

And Ray… Fraser had expected better from him, that Ray knew him better than that. But Ray seemed to believe the innocent Mountie act as much as the rest of them. Not his polite demeanor or his "I'm just asking this without any apparent reference" questions, Ray always caught him on those. No, everything related to sex was apparently something Ray thought Fraser couldn't deal with and it was infuriating.

He had endured as much as possible. Fraser didn't need to sink to their level. They wanted him clueless? They could take this whole thing to the next level.

Ray could just wait and see how much he liked it.

They were just bringing in another john who was associated with an illegal prostitution ring and Ray seemed especially infuriated that some men resorted to such desperate measures when Fraser remarked, "Ray, did you know that 29% of all males have more than 15 sexual partners during their life time?"

Ray turned his head as if Fraser had suddenly grown an additional head. "Come again?"

"Oh yes," and then Fraser went for the kill, "homosexual men are even more promiscuous, statistically speaking, than heterosexual ones."

Ray looked at Fraser as if he wasn't sure if he was being made fun of. Fraser was talking to him about sex? But, of course, this was probably merely out of statistic interest – this was Fraser, after all.

"Uh, that's really helpful Frase." The Mountie had gone round the bend.

Fraser hid his smirk and changed the topic.

That night they were sitting on Ray's couch, 'unwinding' as Ray had put it.

"… and I got this tense neck, you know? Drives me batshit. But I can't relax… probably just the bed's fault," Ray paused for a moment before he waved the topic away. "Forget I said anything, I'm whining."

"Ah, Ray you could try a relaxation technique. They take very little effort and are usually quite effective."

Ray rolled his eyes. "Like what? Should I start drawing those mandolo things or what?"

"Mandala, Ray. No, what I meant was you could avail yourself of autogenic training methods, envisioning a calming image for example. Hot baths are also helpful in that respect. And, of course, masturbation is the most commonly used relaxant," he added as if it had been an afterthought.

Ray spit his beer through half the room. "Jesus! Fraser!"

Fraser looked wide-eyed at Ray. "What is it Ray?"

Ray wiped his mouth and took in Fraser's surprised look. "Uh, nothing… just, thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome, Ray." Fraser smiled gently, feeling just the slightest bit self-satisfied.

Ray played with his hands in need of a distraction. "Uh, you want something to drink Fraser?"

Fraser debated for a second.

"I would accept that offer of a beer now, thank you."

Ray stared a moment at Fraser before he shook himself out of it.

"Coming right up," Ray mumbled. He went to the kitchen to get two beers out of the fridge. Fraser was talking about jerking off… Fraser wanted a beer… maybe Ray was living in his own fantasy?

That would be nice. It was a good place to live. And you never had to worry about the bill for the central heating, that place was plenty hot on its own.

He handed Fraser the bottle and clinked his own against it. Fraser sniffed at it before he ran his tongue experimentally around the bottle neck. Ray almost swallowed his tongue.

"Fraser?" Ray croaked.

"Yes, Ray?"

And Fraser sounded so normal that Ray was really afraid it was his own sanity that was taking the piss here.

"Nothing, nothing," Ray mumbled.

Fraser took in Ray's speechless state when he had licked the bottle opening with some measure of surprise. He had just wanted to get a taste of the flavor but Ray's reaction implied that this had been much more than his usual level of weirdness – which was in itself strange because Ray was used to seeing him lick things.

Maybe Ray had no objections to licking beer bottles? He would have to keep that in mind.

An opportunity to test his theory presented itself the very next morning. Fraser took a seat opposite Ray at his desk and went over the case notes. Ray was shuffling notes around – probably looking for something he had misplaced somewhere in the clutter on his desk – and Fraser thoughtfully twiddled the pencil between his fingers.

He considered the writing utensil for a moment before deliberately sucking it into his mouth. The rustling of paper stopped abruptly and when Fraser lifted his gaze he found Ray looking at him with a perplexed expression on his face.

His tongue gave the rubber at the end of the pencil a final nudge before his lips released it again.

"Is something wrong, Ray?"

"Uh, no nothing. All good," Ray blushed ever so slightly before he busied himself with his in-tray again.

Shit, shit, shit. Ray cursed himself silently. He couldn't be any more obvious about this if he tried. Fraser and his stupid oral fixation.

He probably didn't even know how dirty he looked with the damn pen between his lips! Fraser just did this stuff without realizing what effect he was having on other people. Fraser was a real health hazard… and a moral one, too.

Fraser blinked. That was… unexpected.

That night Fraser decided to be a little bolder. It was comfortably warm in Ray's apartment so Fraser started to unbutton his tunic. Ray stopped and stared at him.

"You… uh, need a hanger for that or anything?"

"Yes, Ray thank you kindly." He hung his tunic at the back of Ray's door and pushed the sleeves of his Henley up a bit.

They sat down for some Thai take-out and Ray's gaze strayed back to Fraser again and again between mouthfuls. Fraser's tongue crept out to wet his lips while he debated with how much he could get away. A bit more, he decided.

He placed his take-out container on the coffee table and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, revealing a few additional inches of skin. He turned back as if nothing had happened and resumed eating.

Ray wasn't. He was busy watching Fraser's newly revealed collar bone. Had he ever seen Fraser so… naked? Fraser in only half of his uniform usually only happened when something gross caught up with them.

This was so much worse. Here was Fraser sitting in Ray's own apartment, almost – indecently— undressed!

"I could turn on the A/C if you want…" Ray trailed off in a quiet voice. Then again, he could just switch on the heater.

"That won't be necessary, Ray. Thank you but I feel quite comfortable now."

Ray's eyes roved over him again.

He heard Ray swallow very quietly before Ray focused his attention back on his food.

Fraser hid his grin with another mouthful of food. This was new. He would tell Ray much later that this was one of the most defining moments of his life; this evening at Ray's apartment when he realized for the very first time that Ray was interested in him in a much more intimate way.

It wouldn't be without anthropological interest to see which caved in first – Ray's firm belief that butter couldn't melt in his mouth or Ray's self-control.

He wasn't a saint. And he had never claimed to be one either. If Ray rather wanted to believe that he didn't have a libido to speak of he would show him what liberties in behavior a man without any sexual thoughts could take.

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or Red Is the Color of Innocence 2**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ PG-13

_**Words:**_ ~ 2.300

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

_**Notes:**_ Written for the ds_aprilfools round 2011, Prompt 30: Author's choice 'woodruff'

**Part 2: Torture of the most exquisite kind**

There was a universal truth that Ray hadn't encountered until last week: weirdness accumulated – torture even more so.

At least that was his take on things right at this very moment – standing in the dark, in a closet of a hotel room, with Benton Fraser, waiting that the next customer fell for the ruse and followed the call-girl to her room.

Fraser had assured him that this wasn't the first time he was standing inside a closet of a woman of a similar profession but Ray wasn't sure if he should feel assured by that.

Ray felt that this whole investigation was taking too bloody long – they didn't even want the john! The just needed him for information about his contacts. They had done nothing but giving sleazy guys between the age of 40 and 60 half a heart-attack with their interruption over the last week and it wasn't exactly the stuff he had signed up for when he had become a cop.

"Ray, there is really no need to feel ashamed," Fraser whispered in a low murmur that stirred the hairs on the back of his neck with its wet heat. Ray shivered involuntarily.

Oh God, why couldn't those stupid hotel closets be bigger? Like stadium big, maybe. Fraser was almost pressed against his back and he had been breathing on his neck for the better part of fifteen minutes – Ray was getting desperate here.

"I'm not," Ray mumbled trying to ignore the moist air at the back of his neck. It almost felt as if Fraser was mouthing his neck… but that was ridiculous. Why would Fraser do such a thing?

"Good," Fraser sounded relieved, "because there is really nothing wrong with this profession. It's one of the oldest –as you well know. Even though, of course, it hadn't been common to pay sexual services with money as a currency until—"

Ray could have sworn that he had felt Fraser's lips at his ear when he had said "sexual services". He was going to die of an internal meltdown or something before the john ever showed his face.

"Fraser! Spare me the lecture, okay?" He snapped feeling rattled.

"But Ray," and Ray could hear the pout in that voice, "it's a fascinating history. The price system for the different services – whether it was oral or—"

"Fraser!" It took every ounce of Ray's willpower not to shout. "I do not wanna hear it!"

"Understood," Fraser sounded definitely miffed by Ray's refusal. How was Fraser supposed to show people that he wasn't as ignorant of sexual activities as everyone believed when no one let him talk about it?

Fraser was quiet now and Ray realized that silence wasn't necessarily the better option. Fraser's breathing wasn't exactly loud but what with Fraser's mouth only inches from his ear it was hard not to hear it.

Ray closed his eyes. This was so not happening to him.

"Ray," Fraser whispered urgently and his fingers closed on Ray's hip. Ray jerked with surprise.

"She's coming back alone. He didn't follow her. This is the third time; I'd suggest that we think of another course of action."

Ray worked some spit back into his mouth before he was able to produce something that sounded like "yeah". Fraser's fingers had left a burning imprint on his skin.

He opened the closet door and slid out of his jacket to drape it over his arm. At least it covered his erection even though Fraser looked at him with a curious expression.

They stepped outside of the hotel – it wasn't exactly cold but it didn't exactly scream run around in a t-shirt either.

"Are you overly warm, Ray?" Fraser asked in a low voice.

"Uh, yeah, it was—you know, rather stifling in that closet… Come on let's get back to the station." Ray started walking briskly towards the car.

Fraser smiled to himself. It had been a fortunate coincidence that they had to stand so very close in that closet but he hadn't anticipated Ray to react quite so sensitive to his presence.

Two days later they finally had some solid leads on who was behind this prostitution ring. They took a short break after Fraser had finished typing up their report.

Ray gulped his coffee down with the fervor of an addict in the last stages of his drug habit.

"Ray, you should really consider drinking less coffee. The caffeine alone—"

"Fraser, I'm not sleeping all that well okay? My back is still killing me and if I don't get coffee I'll sleep on my feet. So I rather take my chances with a caffeine overdose than getting shot because I fell asleep during a bust."

Fraser thought about this for a moment. "You could try physical exercise." Fraser bit his lip for a second, he could phrase this in two ways and… it really wasn't very nice to abuse Ray's exhausted state but temptation licked at him in white hot flames and the mere imagination of Ray's reaction was more than a little intriguing.

This was the beginning of a slippery slope and he knew it. He just couldn't stop it.

"You should really consider it, Ray. It is really remarkable how good it feels to be completely spent, when your muscles unclench from sheer exhaustion and you feel sated all the way to your bones, with sweat still pouring from your skin—"

"Fraser," Ray interrupted with eyes dark and wide. He sounded short of breath when he struggled for the rest of his sentence, "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, jogging, of course. As I said the endorphins that are discharged after a physical work out have a most soothing effect – a very rewarding experience, I assure you."

Fraser had to work hard to keep his voice steady in the face of Ray's obvious arousal at his words.

Ray shook himself as if he was trying to get rid of a mental image – which he probably was. "Yeah, right… exercise," Ray mumbled trying to get a grip on reality again.

Shit… if Fraser continued to paint such pictures he was toast. No way was he going to survive it if Fraser kept this up.

Ray took another mouthful of coffee – caffeine was definitely a safer option than listening to Fraser. At least his blood had time to handle the caffeine administered to it; Fraser was more or less a direct injection that caused all of his blood to jump south in the blink of an eye.

He took a calming breath and studied Fraser over the rim of his coffee cup. Funny thing was, Fraser was… well, Fraser most of the time. Know-it-all, stubborn, goody-two-shoes Fraser.

There were just times when he jumped various pieces of sexual trivia at Ray as if he believed that Ray had missed out on some important facts on the subject – which he probably had but did Fraser have to be so damn involved in every case?

Fraser had probably no idea how it looked when he ran around throwing 'sex' into every available conversation. Not everyone was as innocent as Fraser, sooner or later people would start thinking that Fraser needed to get laid. Badly.

But maybe that was only Ray's libido talking. Fraser had always driven him crazy in the best (and the worst) of ways but lately? Sex on a stick didn't even begin to cover it.

Shit! Fraser was constantly sucking on things not even the slightest bit disgusting – or at least it wasn't dirt or rubbish Fraser was licking lately and he had taken to removing his tunic at Ray's place – which, okay, it was really warm for June most of the time but Ray had a perfectly well working air conditioning.

It was probably all in Ray's head. They had been spending days on the paper work and his head hurt because he hadn't bothered to put his glasses on. Once the headache receded it would all look normal again… or something.

Their shift ended finally so Ray turned to Fraser and asked him if he wanted a ride back to the consulate.

"Thank you, Ray. But Diefenbaker has had very little exercise those last few days due to our investigation so I thought I'd take him for a walk. You're welcome to join us, though."

Dief gave an affirming 'woof'.

Ray looked outside and it was still sunny outside and it had been a rather hot day, too. Why the hell not? Fresh air might help to clear his head.

"Sure, let's get going." Ray said and fished his glasses out of his pocket. He really didn't like them, he looked like a dork with them but his head was trying to split open so it was probably the smaller price to pay.

Fraser watched him and smiled softly. He was quite fond of Ray and his slightly too big glasses even though it would never do to tell him; he would probably not take kindly to this compliment.

They walked the streets for a while before Fraser steered them in the direction of the water front. He enjoyed the area around the Field Museum and the view of the lake. Ray breathed in deeply next to him, he seemed more relaxed than the last few days but Fraser had to admit with a slightly guilty conscience that he wasn't exactly blameless.

Maybe he should go easy on Ray for today. He saw a street vendor selling ice cream in front of the steps of the museum. Ray would surely enjoy it.

"Ray, what would you say to an ice cream?"

Ray grinned at him. "Perfect idea, buddy. Count me in."

They approached the vendor and Fraser greeted the man by name.

"Hello Mr. Philippe. What can you offer my friend and me today?"

Ray didn't even bother to ask. Fraser had some kind of special rapport with the street vendors of Chicago.

"Ah, Mr. Fraser," the man exclaimed delighted. "I have some of the woodruff ice cream you are so fond of."

Fraser smiled happily.

Mr. Philippe looked at the wolf. "And, of course, I have some of the vanilla ice cream you are such a fan of my furry friend." Dief wagged his tail with enthusiasm.

"So, what about you?" Mr. Philippe looked Ray up and down. "I'd say you could go for some triple-chocolate, extra dark with a few sprinkles of nougat chocolate."

Ray's eyes lit up.

"How'd you know that?"

The man shrugged with a huge smile on his face.

Fraser tried paying for their ice but Mr. Philippe was having none of it.

"No, no. Do not insult me, Mr. Fraser. You keep our nice city safe. Least I can do is reward you with a bit of your favorite ice cream."

"In that case, thank you kindly Mr. Philippe. Have a nice day."

Ray eyed the violently green ice cream in Fraser's hand.

"You actually like that?"

Fraser smiled at him.

"Yes, it's quite delicious."

Ray scrunched up his nose and Fraser's cheeks dimpled with the effort not to grin.

They sat on a small wall looking at the lake and Ray relaxed with a happy sigh. He slurped enthusiastically at his ice cream and Fraser smothered a huge smile watching him.

He looked adorably childlike with his glasses and the happy smile on his face.

Ray stopped mid-lick.

He pulled his tongue in again and swallowed. "What?"

Fraser shook his head with another amused smile.

"Nothing."

Ray shrugged and continued eating his ice cream.

Fraser had been so busy watching Ray that he hadn't even noticed that his own was rapidly melting.

He flicked his tongue out to run it quickly around the scoop in a big stripe, catching the dripping ice on the tip of it.

Ray almost dropped his ice cream. He had just glimpsed the motion out of the corner of his eye but now that he had caught sight of Fraser devouring his ice cream in the most indecent manner he had ever seen he was riveted.

Fraser's pink tongue sneaked out again and again to catch the glistening drops of molten ice cream until he flicked his gaze to Ray – apparently feeling watched.

Ray licked his lips – he couldn't help it and a soft red hue spread over Fraser's cheeks.

It was a slightly awkward moment saved by Dief who tried to get a taste of Ray's ice cream while he was so obviously busy not eating it.

"Dief!" Fraser admonished him and Ray instinctively held the ice cream out of the wolf's reach.

"Nu-uh!" He said to Dief who whimpered, obviously embarrassed.

They continued eating their ice cream in silence until Ray cleared his throat. He wasn't a big fan of silences.

"Uhm, so it's really good, huh?"

Fraser was confused for a second before he looked at the green scoop in his hand.

"Why, yes Ray. Would you like to try?"

He held the ice cream cone out to Ray who looked from the ice to Fraser's face and back again.

Ray couldn't get over the fact that Fraser had touched it with his tongue, had indeed run it all over it and in a way this would enable Ray to…. God, he was pathetic.

He nodded hesitantly and drew nearer to Fraser's hand. His gaze flicked to Fraser's mouth again for second before he tentatively stuck his tongue out and licked a stripe over the ice cream.

Fraser stared mesmerized at Ray's tongue.

A sharp sting of desire flared in his midsection. God, he wanted…

Ray withdrew his tongue and tried the flavor out in his mouth. He nodded and had to concede that this didn't taste half bad, not really all that sweet, kinda fresh.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," Fraser said in a low murmur.

The walk back to the precinct where Ray had left his car was charged with something very much like electricity. A kind of breathless anticipation that Fraser thought tasted even sweeter than the woodruff.

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or Red Is the Color of Innocence (3)**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ R

_**Words:**_ ~ 2.100

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

**Part 3: If there's no sex in your movements you're obviously doing it wrong**

Ray hissed when Fraser's hand touched his knee. God this hurt.

"I'm sorry, Ray." Fraser said quietly. They were back at Ray's apartment and Ray was sprawled on the couch with Fraser kneeling in front of him – a position Ray had always wanted to experience (he should have been more detailed about the specifics, though).

"Not your fault," Ray sighed, "at least we got the guy."

"That we did." Fraser stood up and rummaged in Ray's kitchen. Ray didn't bother looking around; Fraser would take care of everything. He leaned back against the cushions and tried to ignore the throbbing of his knee.

They had been in hot pursuit of a man pretty high up in the ranks of this illegal prostitution operation – Ray just wasn't as lucky as Fraser when it came to jumping buildings so his knee had taken the brunt of the fall.

Fraser came back into view with a pair of scissors. Ray eyed them wearily. "You wanna cut my jeans up?"

Fraser rubbed a thumb over his eyebrow.

"Well, seeing the state they are already in I don't think they could be salvaged in any case. I simply thought this might be the easier option. Unless you'd like to undress, Ray. I assure you I don't have any objections against this method of progress either."

Ray's head snapped up with lightening speed. From anyone, absolutely anyone else this would have been a come-on… but Fraser didn't even know what a 'come-on' was. Right?

"Uh, no, you go ahead. Knock yourself out." Ray stretched his leg out with a wince.

He would have a hard-on before he ever managed to pull his pants over his ass. Undressing in front of Fraser was, like, one of the key ingredients of all of his fantasies… of course, in some of them he never even got undressed but that was completely beside the point.

Fraser busied himself with the scissors to hide his disappointment. He put a warm hand on Ray's calf and pulled the fabric away, the cold metal of the scissors scraped softly against Ray's skin. Fraser cut the fabric open until he was a good few inches above the knee.

He pushed his hand inside the fold, his hand stroked lightly over Ray's skin while he pushed the fabric out of the way. His hand continued its way up until it fastened itself into the hollow of Ray's knee and his other hand came up to tear the rest of the fabric away.

Ray was strangely quiet and when Fraser looked up it looked as if Ray was holding his breath.

"Just sit still. I'm going to get ice and antibiotic ointment." Fraser explained quietly, still holding Ray's leg. Ray only nodded. He didn't trust his voice and his leg had the weird impulse to twitch.

Slowly Fraser released his grip and made his way to the bathroom. Ray breathed in and out as slowly as he could. The touch had felt so intimate, almost affectionate and it conjured other pictures up, other places those hands could touch, under circumstances in which they could feel up Ray's body and commit his skin to memory.

He heard footsteps approaching and tried to shake himself out of it. He was almost as bad as Fraser what with all the day dreaming he was doing lately.

Fraser placed a small bowl with ice cubes next to him and a bottle of iodine that Ray eyed in dismay.

Fraser placed his hand straight in the middle of Ray's thigh and Ray jumped violently – a particular body part of him was also trying to get in on the action and Ray produced a sound that sounded very much like "eep" which was even more humiliating.

"Fraser! Do you need to put your hand quite so close?"

Fraser looked up puzzled. "Where do you propose I touch you then?"

Ray's jaw worked up and down but a multitude of possible answers fought for dominance on this one, 'my cock', 'my chest', 'my legs', 'my lips'… 'everywhere' were all the first ones that came to mind but Ray was rather sure that this wasn't what Fraser had asked.

"I-I, uh, nothing, Fraser." He mumbled.

Fraser bent his head over the bowl of ice cubes so that Ray couldn't see the smirk playing on his lips.

He fished out an ice cube and warmed it slightly between his fingers until it started to drip with water. Fraser moved the melting ice carefully over Ray's knee, removing the dirt and the grit.

Ray hissed again at the cold and Fraser rubbed a soothing circle with his thumb on Ray's thigh. Water trickled in very small rivulets down Ray's leg while Fraser continued to slide the smooth cube over Ray's skin.

Ray's hand was gripping the couch cushion with a stranglehold. Oh God, oh Godohgodohgod, ran through his head in one endless loop and the thought came to him that this wasn't using His name in vain – this was probably the most just cause ever to do it.

Fraser's thumb on his thigh felt burning hot and the circling motion was distracting like nobody's business but nothing was worse than the feel of the cool, slick ice cube traveling over his heated skin.

And the simple image of Fraser on his knees in front of him… God, if he came closer he would be at the perfect height to— the thumping of his heart sounded deafening to his ears.

Fraser picked up on Ray's quickened breathing and bit his lip to keep from smiling. The hand on Ray's thigh stroked lower under the pretense of pushing the jeans fabric firmly away again before he rubbed upwards again, just an inch further than before. Ray tried to stifle his gasp but the twitch in his leg gave him away.

How obvious would it be if he draped a jacket over his groin now Ray wondered? Maybe he could use a couch cushion as cover? God, his jeans were simply too tight for this shit.

What did you say as an excuse when you came in your pants while your partner took care of your wound? That's the thing about life no one ever wrote a book about the really important stuff, like, '101 ways to come in your pants without your partner knowing' or something.

"There," Fraser said satisfied, his gaze traveled upwards and it took him every ounce of willpower not to linger over the unmistakable bulge in Ray's pants. Instead he acted as if he hadn't noticed and met Ray's slightly flushed face with a calm look.

Ray's self-control was really remarkable. Either that or Ray really thought he was that innocent – in which case Fraser would have to up the ante a bit.

"I'm going to apply the iodine now. It might sting a bit." He warned. Ray didn't care, hurt was good, hurt was greatness, hurt had nothing to do with sex, it was a welcome distraction.

It did sting a bit but it didn't even help to take the edge away. But Fraser obviously hadn't noticed his current state – sometimes Fraser's damn ignorance was really bliss.

Ray wasn't exactly keen on telling Fraser that he might have a bit of a thing for him, just a tiny little crush really, almost non-existent, really. Hardly worth explaining at all – which was exactly why he hadn't said anything. Ever.

When Fraser left a while later Ray lay down on his bed and thought a long time about the feeling of Fraser's fingers on his skin.

The pain in his knee didn't even bother him anymore.

Something had changed and Ray couldn't really put his finger on it. Fraser seemed to be… happy. And it wasn't as if Fraser had run around being miserable but… Ray sighed. This was complicated.

Fraser just never outright grinned or laughed and he usually smiled just this little smile, the somewhat polite one.

Lately, Fraser was smiling more and more – usually at Ray. And somehow also at Ray's expense. Ray really wasn't all that sure if it wasn't just a trick of his own oversexed imagination.

He wanted therefore it was. Or something like that. Yesterday he had sat at his desk and tried to persuade the printer to work for him for just once in its stupid life when Fraser appeared at his back, leaned over him and murmured in his ear "I can help you with this."

And he had. The printer had whizzed to life and Ray had his copy. Just… Jesus! Ray heard the soft hum of Fraser's voice in his ear for an hour afterwards. It was disconcerting, was what it was.

But no one else seemed to notice anything. Sure, people had started to look funny since Fraser had started talking about sex statistics but everyone had come to accept that this was Fraser's way of dealing with this case so no one made fun of him because of it – at least not more than usual.

His crush had reached new heights. His mind now actually believed that Fraser was flirting with him. Flirting. Fraser. The guy who asked "for what?" when a woman said she wanted him. Ray had lost his mind— the only thing missing was talking to thin air. But that was right up Fraser's alley so he could probably give him a few pointers.

So Ray did the only logical thing: He ignored it. It was better for his sanity and definitely better for his friendship with Fraser.

That night Ray wasn't giving his mind any leeway for funny business. Everything would be normal tonight.

Fraser was again down to his Henley and his pants but Ray had time to get accustomed to that. Wasn't like he didn't appreciate it anymore but he could survive the distraction.

Ray ambled into the kitchen. "Hey Frase, you want tea or something? My mum left some Earl Grey stuff last time she came in." – Which was a blatant lie.

Ray had bought the tea himself in the hope it would get his mind back to terra firma, no bottles to lick and no thirsty gulps of tangy beer that left Fraser's lips shiny with moisture and that made Ray wonder how beer from Fraser's tongue would taste like.

Fraser produced an appreciative murmur. "That would be lovely, thank you."

Ray busied himself with the preparation of a coffee for himself. When his coffee was through the tea was done steeping. He carried the cup over to Fraser and placed it in front of him to go back to collect his coffee mug.

Fraser contemplated the cup in front of him. He was getting desperate. His plan had started out so promising but it had seemed those last few days as if Ray had lost interest – even though Fraser had done everything he could think of without resorting to public indecency.

He eyed the cup speculatively and blushed at the idea that formed in his mind.

Fraser raised the cup to his lips and took a sip, he heard Ray's footsteps coming closer and gave a low moan – there was movement to his left before coffee sloshed onto the couch table. "Fuck," Ray cursed, his gaze snapped from Fraser to the mess on the table and his dripping hand before he focused it on Fraser again.

Ray had a haunted look on his face and Fraser tried very hard to keep his expression neutral. "That's a very good tea, Ray." He explained with a small smile.

Ray nodded mechanical. "I-I'll get that." He gestured vaguely to the spilled coffee.

Holy shit! Ray tried to control the shaking in his fingers while he fumbled for a paper napkin at the kitchen counter. That sound had brought everything back to the forefront again. And he had worked so hard those last few days. Dammit!

He wanted, he wanted, he wanted.

God, the desire was almost choking him with its intensity. He wanted to have Fraser spread-eagled on his bed, naked and vulnerable and then he could touch Fraser, every bit of that creamy skin, he wanted to dig his nails into the soft flesh and feel the muscles underneath his grip shift.

He wanted to hear Fraser moan, unrestrained and hoarse with sex. He wanted to push his fingers into him, as deep as they could go and fuck Fraser mercilessly until he was shaking and falling apart… he wanted to fuck him, hard and long, and desperate so that Fraser could taste him on his tongue, he—

His fingers closed around the napkin and he tried to get a grip on control that was long gone. He glanced over his shoulder back at the couch and found Fraser looking at him with an intense look. Almost expectant.

And suddenly Ray had a terrible suspicion – but Fraser wouldn't do this to him. Fraser wouldn't play him like that. Would he?

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or Red Is the Color of Innocence 4**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ PG

_**Words:**_ ~ 3.060

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

**Part 4: Revenge is a dish best served with a guilty conscience to enhance the flavor**

Rage flared in Ray bright as a beacon. If he was right – and it looked like he was because he had almost never read Fraser wrong when it came to guilt – then God help him.

Better yet, God could help Fraser. He would need any help he could get. Wasn't that Ray hadn't been lusting after the guy for months and months, wasn't that he wouldn't jump at the chance to finally get a hands on demonstration of what exactly that tongue could tell about him just by licking – that was all his wishes come true and then some.

But Fraser laughing at him? Fraser making fun of him? For weeks on end? That definitely hadn't been one of his three wishes.

Ray took a shaking breath and turned to face Fraser head-on. The careful mask on his face enraged Ray even further. Bit late to play the saint now.

"_Unless you'd like to undress, Ray." _Bits and pieces from the last weeks began to come back to him.

"_Masturbation is the most commonly used relaxant"_

Relaxant… oh for crying out loud…

Tension took hold of him like a vice. He could feel his muscles clench in anticipation. 

"…_you feel sated all the way to your bones, with sweat still pouring from your skin…"_

He could feel the anger vibrating all the way to the tips of his air – and judging from the way Fraser looked at him he could see it, too. 

"…_how good it feels to be completely spent, when your muscles unclench from sheer exhaustion…"_

Ray clenched his teeth tightly together to keep from snarling.

"_Ray, what would you say to an ice cream?"_

He tried to control it, he really did but there was no stopping this – not now, not after everything he had endured those last weeks.

"Are you fucking with me? 'Cause I swear to God Fraser, do not fuck with me!"His voice was harsh and the words stung even as they left his lips.

Fraser's eyebrows climbed up into his hairline and the color started to drain from his face.

"No—I—Ray, I didn't-I," Fraser looked shocked but his voice was saturated with conviction. Okay, Ray could work with that, so Fraser wasn't just yanking his chain here.

Ray came another step closer, his whole body jittery with contained emotions.

"You figured it out, didn't you? You figured _me_ out?" He flung it at Fraser, it wasn't a compliment.

Fraser sat rooted to the spot on the couch. He rubbed his thumb over his eyebrow.

"Ah, Ray—what do you—"

"Don't you DARE!" Ray threatened. "Don't you dare or I swear I'll pop you in the head if you pull the oblivious Mountie shit! You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Ray's teeth were bared, his whole body taut with tension. Fraser could almost see it radiating from him.

He could sympathize with the suspects that Ray interrogated. He was dangerously intimidating in his rage – and this time it wasn't a posture.

Yet Fraser couldn't help but admire the strength, the passion, the sheer life in his every move – his whole appearance was radiant. He was the most sublime thing Fraser had ever seen.

That must have been the way Icarus felt when he finally reached the sun; right before he fell.

"Do you think it's funny? Huh? Is this your idea of a joke? Because it's one hell of a sick joke I tell ya!" Ray advanced closer, a dark expression on his face. His hands were balled to fists at his side.

"Ray I—"

"'Cause I ain't laughing Fraser! Dammit!" Ray pulled at his hair in frustration and started pacing.

"It's not enough for you that half the population of Chicago is at your feet? You need me down there with the rest of them, too, that it?"

"NO!" Fraser finally managed to interrupt.

Ray threw him a bitter glance and pointed with two fingers at him.

"No? Well it sure as hell feels like it. Did it amuse you? Watching me make a fool of myself over you?" He changed direction again with whip-like speed.

Fraser jumped up from the couch. "Ray, I didn't do this to make fun of you. I-I'm sorry—"

"Damn right you are! Don't tell me you didn't know what you were doing, do not tell me that Fraser. 'Cause no one's that innocent, not even you—"

"I never said I was." Fraser interrupted with more bitterness than he had intended for wasn't that the whole starting point of this fight – his desire to prove exactly that?

"Greatness!" Ray threw his arms in the air and started pacing in the other direction again. "So you actually did it on purpose!" He barked out something that sounded like a painful version of a chuckle. "Lucky me to have a friend like you—"

Fraser's head reared back as if he had been slapped.

"Ray—I never meant to hurt you with my behavior I was just—I was—" And didn't it sound foolish now to tell Ray that all he had been trying to prove was that he wasn't as innocent as everyone else believed? What did that make him? – Childish, shallow, belittling.

He had used Ray. It didn't matter that he had real feelings for him or that the intention behind his actions had been the same attraction Ray had tried so hard to hide.

Because in a way he had betrayed his trust, hadn't he? This had been Ray's utmost secret, carefully guarded and protected and for that Fraser's teasing had cut much deeper than he had ever thought it could. He hadn't shown the least inkling of respect for the depth of Ray's feelings.

Instead he had been playing some kind of game, had turned it into a challenge for Ray's control. It was unforgivable. Ray had every right to hate him.

He himself should have been the first person to understand the dangerous nature of emotions that ran so deep that they tore you apart inside, he – more than anyone else – should have respected them. He should've offered Ray the truth – which was nothing less than he deserved.

"YOU WHAT?" Ray shouted in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Ray." His voice came out in a whisper. The last of the warmth left his cheeks. "I'm so sorry… I never intended to make a joke out of this, I wouldn't—"

Ray crossed his arms in front of his body before almost immediately releasing them again in his agitation.

"It was all real Ray; I can at least assure you that. I didn't try to fool you, I—I'm terribly sorry."

Fraser sounded so earnest it bordered on desperation. Ray took a deep breath – yeah, he figured Fraser wouldn't have been that good a liar. Still, no way was Fraser getting out of this so easily.

Ray had nursed this crush for months and he had worked so hard to keep it separate from their partnership, their friendship, their—everything!

And Fraser had the cheek to tease him about it, fooling him with his stupid innocence-act until he was questioning his own sanity. Friends didn't do that.

"You should go, Fraser. Just—go," Ray let out his breath on a shaky sigh.

Fraser stared wide eyed at him and it felt like a punch to the gut. Ray remembered that look – only they weren't standing at a lakefront this time.

But he couldn't—he just needed some time with this.

Fraser closed his eyes, a bitter twist around his mouth and it felt like physical pain to see him like that. But he had to—he wasn't Fraser's whipping boy and maybe Fraser needed to realize that he couldn't just pull him along on a string like he wanted whenever he felt like it.

"I'm so sorry," Fraser whispered and Ray softened a little. He got that. Didn't need to be a detective for that – that much was plain for everyone to see.

"I know." Ray tiredly ran a hand through his hair. "I need a bit time, 's all."

Fraser nodded even though it looked like it hurt. Ray stood still in the middle of the room when the door of his apartment closed behind Fraser.

Ray took another shaky breath. He needed a drink.

He nursed his Scotch only to realize again that drinking didn't help shit. Well, at least he had calmed down some. He groaned, slumped down in front of his couch on the rug and put his head in his hands.

Fraser was probably hurting like hell – as he bloody well should, some vindictive part of him whispered fiercely.

Without the rage coursing through him though it was much harder to be angry at Fraser over this. God… how long had he wanted Fraser to take an interest in him in that way?

And when he finally did Ray had to explode like a land mine – you came too close and 'blam', that's all she wrote, stick it in a box marked 'dumb'.

"Fuck," he cursed succinctly. And yet… there was a small part of him that still felt Fraser deserved a bit of punishment for teasing him to the brink of insanity – and beyond.

It was probably the same part of him that gloated over besting Dief – not the most noble or rational part of him but undeniably there.

Ray sighed and took another mouthful of Scotch. The liquid burnt down his throat, leaving a warm feeling on his tongue.

Okay, he could forgive Fraser. If he stayed mad at him every time he had cause to he'd never talk to the man at all.

Didn't mean that Fraser didn't deserve some payback – two could play this game after all. And besides, Fraser really had it coming.

Ray waited two days before he called Fraser. The moment he did Fraser didn't even let the telephone finish its first ring.

"Hey Fraser," Fraser went almost weak with relief.

"Hello Ray, I—"

"Can we just not talking about it? Okay?"

"I-certainly Ray," Fraser didn't sound happy. Ray could almost hear him rubbing at his eyebrow.

"Good," Ray sighed with relief. "That's good. So… you wanna come to the station later? Liaise a bit?"

Fraser felt instantly better.

"I'd like that very much." They still needed to talk. Fraser had thought long and hard about his behavior – which had caused him an almost painful constant flush for the last two days, it was really inexcusable – but maybe he could explain himself to Ray, convince him of his honest intentions and—

"Okay, see ya later buddy." And the line went dead.

Fraser was almost humming with nervousness when he entered the bullpen a few hours later.

His nervousness took a sudden detour into something very much like spontaneous heart failure when he caught sight of Ray. Ray was bent over his desk, pouring over case notes in a button down shirt that all but clung to his lean body.

Fraser had seen the shirt in Ray's closet, it was one of the shirts Ray had described as 'very fetching on an employee of a bank' – albeit in a slightly more colorful way.

From looking at him Fraser wouldn't exactly suggest that it should be worn in a bank. It was too distracting on Ray to be worn in any enclosed space the way it molded itself to Ray's torso.

The material stretched tight over his shoulders with every move Ray made, the sleeves had been rolled up slightly uneven – giving it a casual appearance that belied its formalness, the muscles in Ray's forearm flexed underneath the exposed skin and Fraser was lost.

Was this heaven or hell? Had it only been two days since he had last seen Ray? Maybe the time of separation had made him more receptive to Ray's charm?

Ray looked up, a guarded expression on his face and Fraser tried to calm his nerves. He had to remember how badly things had ended; this wasn't the best of times to remind Ray of the fact.

"Ray I'm—"

"Save it." Ray's voice brooked no argument. "We're good – alright? Apart from that? I don't wanna hear it."

"Ah," Fraser pulled at his collar. This wasn't at all what he wanted. "As you wish." But he could respect Ray's boundaries. He would show him that he could.

Best of intentions only got you so far, though. Resistance was at least the farthest from Fraser's mind when Ray stood up two hours later to get a coffee and – stretched – pulling his arms over his head, a position that made him look almost vulnerable, until Fraser caught sight of the exposed glimpse of flesh of Ray's taut stomach where the shirt had ridden up.

What that little sliver of revealed skin could do to one's self-control was remarkable. Fraser was so close to reaching out to touch it when he realized that Ray was staring at him with an unreadable look on his face.

Fraser cleared his throat and busied his hands with the stapler – there had to be some report to staple, something, anything at all.

"Hey Ray, did you shrink your shirts in the wash or didn't they sell anything in your size?" Dewey grinned at Ray on his way to his desk.

Ray grinned back with an unfriendly smile, "At least I didn't dress in the dark – or did your mother never tell you that orange and purple don't mix?"

Dewey took his tie in his fingers and fiddled with it for a moment with a confused look on his face. "What's wrong with my tie?"

"Oh nothing if you're—"

"Save it you two, come on Tom." Huey pulled his partner along towards the exit. Ray shook his head in disgust and went to the break room for a coffee.

Fraser used the short reprieve of Ray's absence to thoroughly scold himself. What kind of self-control was that supposed to be?

He wasn't supposed to focus on Ray that way and just because he had spent the last few weeks focusing on not much else gave him no excuse to be fixated on Ray in such a way now.

After this moment of initial weakness Fraser was rather proud of his restraint. It just didn't last very long. Good things almost never did.

The next day proved the golden rule that trying not to think about something will only lead to pondering exactly said forbidden subject. It was inevitable, the harder one tried to resist something the more compelling the urge became.

Fraser arrived at the station at the appointed time only to realize that Ray was nowhere to be found. Upon investigation it turned out that Ray had left a message with Francesca that he could be found at the gym.

The trip wasn't a long one and Dief could certainly use the exercise which was the reason that found Fraser in front of Ray's gym half an hour later. He entered the hall that was alive with the hustle and bustle of countless other men even though it was long past lunch time.

He found Ray at one of the heavy bags. The smell hit him before he could open his mouth to greet Ray. His nostrils flared and his heart rate accelerated almost painfully.

Fraser took another deep breath – it was a compulsion, rational thought had nothing to do with it. The smell of clean sweat, warm skin and talcum powder mixed with Ray's hair styling products and a soft residue from cinnamon gum filled his lungs and left him weak in the knees.

Desire coiled at the base of his spine and he had to forcefully suppress the urge to grab Ray. He could see every bead of sweat glistening on Ray's body in stark relief as if someone had put a magnifying glass over it.

Dief made a sound very much like a snort and Fraser tried to snap out of his reverie.

"Oh, hey Fraser," Ray looked up at him but didn't pause his circling around the heavy bag. Fluid movement enabled Ray to dance away every time the bag swung back toward him.

"I'm sorry" he panted, "for the-" the sentence was interrupted by a grunt from Ray as his fist connected with the bag, "delay."

"Think nothing of it." Fraser's mouth supplied helpfully completely on autopilot. Yes, it was true. The harder you tried not to look the more tempting it proved to be.

The musky scent of Ray's exertions alone was enough to bring the heat to his cheeks but coupled with Ray's heavy breathing and the groans he was producing it was really more than Fraser could endure with a clear conscience.

"I, ah, will you be much longer? I don't want to rush you but I—" Fraser floundered for a moment looking for an inspiration, "I am not wearing gym shoes, I'm afraid. It's against the regulations."

"Huh?" Ray looked confused at Fraser's feet. "Oh, alright. I'll go grab a shower. I was finished anyway." He shot Fraser a quick grin before he shadow boxed his way to the changing rooms.

Fraser sighed with relief. This should make staying on topic perceptibly easier.

– or not – Fraser had to concede when Ray returned freshly showered, threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him toward the GTO.

The scent of Ray's soap, the clean, fresh fragrance and the additional image of Ray standing under the spray, soaking up the water, with hands gliding over his body wasn't exactly an improvement of his earlier situation.

"Hey, you wanna get something to eat? I could really use some food."

Fraser could only nod his assent. "Yes, food sounds good."

Even though he would have just as readily agreed to anything else at the moment.

Ray bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing and started to prattle on about their dinner choices. Finger food sounded like a pretty good idea to him.

No, being a cocktease like that really wasn't something a friend did. But wasn't it your duty to walk a mile in the shoes of your friend to know how they felt? Ray was just glad to be of service.

And it wasn't as if he wasn't prepared to make up for it. Later. Much later. 

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or Red Is the Color of Innocence 5**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ R

_**Words:**_ ~ 2.400

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

**Part 5: No one said evening the score was a very mature thing to do **

Fraser let himself be dragged inside the small diner and took his seat opposite Ray in one of the booths.

The table was a welcome barrier between them. Fraser tried to enforce the border between them further by arranging the napkin dispenser as unobtrusively as he could right on the imaginary line that divided up the table.

The salt and pepper shaker were also quite convenient for his undertaking. Ray stopped in mid-rant.

"Fraser, you trying to talk strategy here or what's the Battleships layout for?" Ray asked drawn between puzzlement and amusement.

Fraser looked up confused. "Battleships Ray?"

"Yeah, you know? The game where you draw ships on a map with coordinates and then you try to guess where the ones from your opponent are?"

"I don't think I'm familiar with this game."

Ray waved it aside. "Didn't miss anything, I promise."

At least the interruption had distracted Fraser enough to feel a bit more composed.

They ordered their food and Fraser resolved not to let Ray take anything that resembled junk food back to Diefenbaker outside later on.

"Dig in," Ray gestured at Fraser's food with a chicken wing before tearing a chunk of meat off with his teeth.

Fraser knew that he should concentrate on his own food – that's what it was there for after all. Sadly, his own Cesar salad didn't hold nearly half as much interest as Ray eating.

Watching Ray devour chicken wings was almost obscene. Ray's fingers were already covered in grease and finding it attractive how someone was gnawing on a bone was probably only one more thing on the growing list of evidence against his mental stability but he couldn't help his fascination.

Ray stopped with his hand to his lips to raise his eyebrows at Fraser.

"Something wrong with your food? You could order something else, I could wait?"

Fraser cracked his neck. "No, no it's fine. Of course, the nutritional value of this particular salad is more-more than… than…"

Ray had leaned back and was currently licking the grease off his fingers with an expression very much like the cat that got the cream.

He gave his index finger a final lick before he pulled his fingertips a few inches away from his mouth. His eyes fixed on Fraser's.

"Go on, I'm listening."

"Ah, yes, as I was saying,"

And Ray continued to clean his fingers – even going so far as to insert them up to the first knuckle. But he looked completely focused on what Fraser was saying.

More to the question: What exactly was he saying?

"Yes?" Ray's lips curved into an amused smile that he half-heartedly tried to suppress.

Ray's fingers were shining with moisture and the urge to grab his hand and to taste them with his own tongue was so strong that it took physical effort to stay in his seat.

"I-Ray, this is terribly distracting," Fraser confessed but instead of looking confused or even embarrassed Ray's smile simply got bigger.

"Oh, it is? Sorry, buddy," he swirled his tongue a final time over index and middle finger before settling his hands on the table top. In plain view. Fraser's eyes were magnetically drawn to them.

"The nutritional value of the-the," Fraser licked his lips absent-mindedly and raised his eyes to meet Ray's who looked rather pleased with having rendered him momentarily speechless, "salad cannot be expected to be especially high seeing that it has been produced—"

Ray let Fraser's explanation wash over him. The tips of Fraser's ears were still a bit red and Ray had to cross his ankles underneath the table to contain his glee. Stage 1 'shaking up the Mountie' was a huge success. Time for stage 2 – teasing was much more fun if you could take real credit for it.

The way Ray saw it this was more a challenge for his own self-control – planting all these suggestive images in Fraser's mind without jumping the man – especially since Fraser would be one hell of a happy victim – wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Acting innocent was one thing, being it was quite another matter and Ray's mind was in the gutter more time than not when it came to Fraser without even acting out any sexual impulses his mind so helpfully provided.

What did that make him? He wondered. Was he a sadist for paying Fraser back like that or was he a masochist for pushing Fraser into retaliating even though he could just as well drag him straight into the bedroom? Ray smirked. He could ask Fraser once this was all over – hopefully with a post-sex glow to top it off.

Being subtle…mh, how should he put it? – Wasn't exactly high on the list of Ray's talents – getting physical, however, was a whole different kettle of fish. Fraser thought he had the monopoly for whispering suggestively into his ear or for licking his ice cream like he was giving the most enthusiastic blowjob ever? He hadn't met Ray Kowalski yet.

In the end Fraser was so preoccupied that he didn't even scold Ray for slipping Dief half a cheeseburger when they left the diner.

The next day Ray got creative with office supplies – Ray had the suspicion that Fraser had a secret fondness for stationery.

It was completely juvenile and Ray didn't even give much crap about the whole Freudian thing but… well, Fraser was a clever guy and – as he had proven –nowhere near as innocent as people thought.

So while Fraser was going through a rather involved story about a guy named Jim and a beaver Ray picked up one of the pencils and balanced the tip of it on his desk and then he let it slide between his thumb and his index finger from the rubber end downward to the tip.

"…as you know Ray the beaver is the second-largest rodent in the world…"

Ray's fingers came down to the tip so he switched the pencil around and started the smooth glide between his fingers anew.

At first it didn't even look as if Fraser noticed Ray's playing and Ray figured he probably played with stuff between his fingers all the time so he had to make the movement a bit clearer.

"…of course," Fraser laughed quietly, "Jim didn't know that herbivores prefer…"

Ray splayed his hand on the tabletop and put the tip of the pencil right between the grove where his middle and his index finger met the palm and started the slide down yet again.

"…and since an adult specimen can weigh up to 25 kg, that's 55 pounds, he—" Fraser suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and cleared his throat.

Ray looked up without stopping his movement and found Fraser transfixed by the show his fingers were putting on. Fraser's cheeks took on a bit more color. "I, ah, would you excuse me for a second Ray? I need-I'll be right back." And with that Fraser rather hastily walked towards the rest rooms. His neck visibly red – a nice addition to the red of his serge Ray thought.

Strike 1 Ray grinned stupidly and gave the pencil a rest. Fraser had probably never done this juvenile stuff in school – Ray had a big advantage there.

Fraser came back a minute later looking rather composed under the circumstances and Ray pitied the fact that they were way too busy for the rest of their shift to pull any dirty tricks. And that evening Fraser had to get back to the consulate because he had promised Turnbull assistance with something or other – and with Turnbull Ray rather didn't wanna to know.

So Ray lay alone on his couch that evening and pondered what else he could do that would have the desired effect on Fraser. Thinking wasn't exactly his biggest friend at the moment, the last few days had left Ray in an almost constant state of arousal - it was like a low buzz that never completely faded away.

The knowledge of what his behavior did to Fraser was turning him on no matter how much he tried to stay focused on Fraser alone.

Food; food was good idea. Maybe it could distract him for a while. He shuffled through his leaflets for different take-outs, and came across one smudged, white piece of paper with a phone number written on it that was stuck between a brochure for a pizza delivery and one for a Thai restaurant.

Ray stared at it with sudden inspiration. Oh, that was way too good to pass up… and with a little help— this could be good. Fraser didn't need to know the details; he thought while he dug through one of his drawers.

A moment later he pulled out a slightly squished packet of cigarettes with a triumphant grin.

His throat would hate him but this was so worth it.

Fraser was still wearing his jodhpurs and his Henley when the telephone rang. He had been reading through some of his father's journals, hoping to find something about the dangers of desire or temptation or both but he hadn't been able to concentrate on it very well.

He kept replaying the scene of Ray's fingers playing with the pencil in his mind… did Ray know how much he loved his hands? Those eloquent, dexterous fingers… he bit his lip. It didn't do at all to keep thinking about Ray and his beautiful hands and—the ringing of the telephone was a welcome distraction.

Fraser snatched up the receiver without even looking at the caller ID and opened his mouth to greet the caller when a gravelly voice beat him to it.

"Fraser," the voice was more of a low murmur, slightly hoarse and it went straight to Fraser's dick. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of mental pictures.

"Ray," the name left his lips like a revelation. He was answered with a dark chuckle that sent another jolt to his groin. He pressed his hand against the desk to support himself and took a shaking breath.

"Hello, I-" Fraser tried to shake the surreal feeling that he was already asleep and dreaming. "What can I do for you Ray?" He rubbed distractedly at his eyebrow.

Ray gave a sensual sigh. "You could help me sleep," the smile could be heard in his voice and Fraser wondered if he had heard correctly.

"What is the problem?" A frog seemed to have taken lodgings in his throat.

"I can't seem to relax, Fraser," and the way Ray's raspy voice pronounced his name was the material of a thousand late night fantasies… had his voice always been this rough?

"I'm just tossing and turning," Ray made a short pause and it gave Fraser just enough time to picture Ray's body stretched out over twisted sheets. "…and I thought you might be able to help me with that."

"How?" Oh great, he was monosyllabic now.

There was the soft chuckle again and it sent a shiver down his spine. His dick was twitching in his pants and Fraser pressed the heel of his palm against his erection – hoping that a bit of pain might stave off the desire that licked like a flame in his gut but it only made the throbbing more acute.

"Heh, you're the one with the never-ending knowledge of ways to relax, right?"

"Ah, yes," Fraser tried to clear his throat. He recalled a vaguely similar conversation with Ray but it was only tickling the back of his mind. "Did you try a hot bath?" Fraser couldn't stop his hand from rubbing against his cock through his trousers.

"Mhm," Ray murmured and Fraser worried his bottom lip to keep the moan inside at the sound.

"I tried that… now I'm hot and I still can't sleep," Ray laughed quietly. His smoky voice did unspeakable things to Fraser's imagination.

"Tried counting sheep, too. Didn't help a bit, though. Anything else you can think of?" Ray's tone was suggestive and Fraser was finally able to recall the conversation he had vaguely remembered before – and he understood what Ray was trying to accomplish.

"Masturbation," Fraser whispered, closing his eyes tightly and forcing his hand back onto the desk because he understood now that nothing of this had been the fault of his own imagination – Ray had left nothing to chance.

Fraser's tongue felt too thick for his mouth. He deserved this but it didn't make the torture any easier to bear. His dick was still throbbing insistently in his pants— it obviously didn't care that it wasn't getting any relief any time soon.

Ray was getting even – so this was going to be his punishment. It seemed only fair… but fairness didn't help with the desire he could feel thrumming through his veins or with the burning in his fingers that were longing to touch Ray or with the mental images his mind supplied – more graphic and realistic than was strictly necessary.

Ray released a shaky breath. This was affecting him worse than he had anticipated – he could spend the next few lifetimes getting Fraser to say 'masturbation' without any problems.

"Yeah, right… I could do that. You got the best of ideas, you know that Frase?" Ray's voice was sinfully soft, did it sound like that during sex… or after, when he had moaned himself hoarse? A small whimper escaped Fraser's lips despite his best efforts to keep quiet.

"You sound as if you could use some…relaxation, too." Ray murmured gently.

"I-I'm fine," Fraser managed to force out. He could get through this – he had no right to complain in any case. On what grounds could he possibly find fault with Ray's behavior after his own lack of self-restraint?

Ray snorted quietly. "Whatever you say buddy… thanks for the advice. Nice dreams." Fraser could picture Ray's smirk clearly before him.

He had planned to say 'you're welcome' or simply 'good night' but the only thing that left his throat was a strangled sound that caused Ray to huff out a quiet laugh.

Fraser was still standing in his office with the receiver pressed to his ear a long time after the line went dead.

Touching himself was completely out of the question. Ray deserved the feeling that he had "evened the score" so to speak. Fraser was a grown man, and a Mountie. He would take full responsibility for his actions.

If he had to suffer frustration he would do so. And maybe, he allowed himself to hope, maybe afterward – once he had suffered enough – Ray would be able to forgive his abysmal behavior.

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Of Ivory Towers – Or Red Is the Color of Innocence 6**_

_**Author:**_ Tatau

_**Fandom**_**:** Due South

_**Pairing**_**:** Fraser/RayK

_**Rating:**_ NC-17

_**Words:**_ ~ 6.400

_**Disclaimer:**_ Due South is the property of Alliance Atlantis. Written for fun not profit

**Part 6: Pavlov's dog can't hold a candle to a Mountie **

Sanity was mostly a matter of perception – a question of sharing reality the same way most people commonly did. In this particular instance, Fraser was absolutely certain that everything was real – he just wasn't sure if he was still sane.

His frayed nerves clung to the last shred of common sense but it wasn't an easy undertaking when everyone else thought it was his reality that had it wrong.

He had to visibly force the bitterness around his mouth away when he noticed the odd look detective Huey was giving him. Was it so incredibly hard to believe that it wasn't Fraser's imagination that was playing tricks on him but Ray – in flesh and blood and as corporeal as every other living, breathing, touching, tantalizing, tempting—he clenched his teeth—being?

Huey just didn't see what Fraser was seeing. Couldn't understand that Fraser wasn't acting flustered because Ray was triumphantly wrestling a copy from the printer but because – just a second ago – Ray had been pressed against his back, his lips almost touching his ear, murmuring something about admiring Fraser's ability to always find the right –spot— to put his fingers on which had Fraser accidentally deleting the print driver in his haste to get the desired copy (he rectified his mishap with the print driver a second later though with Ray still breathing on his neck).

And just because he succumbed to a coughing fit after asking Ray "Are you coming yet?" (a grave error on his part, he should have anticipated this) which Ray answered with a cheery murmur of "not yet" it didn't mean that detective Dewey should be entitled to make wholly unhelpful suggestions about Canadians not being used to air conditioning due to their lack of the 3 other seasons that commonly existed besides winter.

Fraser was familiar with the concept of purgatory – he only lacked the courage to ask Ray how long he would have to endure there fearing that the answer might be longer than he could cope with.

During the nights, when he was finally alone in his office, his hands shook with the relief of not being clenched any longer and his body felt feverish under the inevitable slide show of Ray and his merciless teasing, his erection so hard it hurt, straining against the material of his long johns.

He wanted to touch himself, to at least grant himself some physical release, with every fiber of his being but he couldn't give in – he had sworn himself that he would see this through, that he would bear everything Ray deemed appropriate.

Atonement always came at a price and he was willing to make the sacrifice that was needed – if that meant that Ray could forgive him then so be it.

Needless to say he was suffering from the first mild symptoms of sleep withdrawal.

Sometimes, knowing the correct name of a phenomenon didn't help dealing with it, Fraser thought resignedly the next morning. Just because he understood the concept of conditioning behind Pavlov's dog didn't mean he could prevent getting hard from hearing Ray moan appreciatively at his first sip of coffee of the day.

_I am a Mountie, I am a Mountie, I am a Mountie_ he kept repeating in his head, reminding himself of the fact that he was well above such juvenile fantasies and fanciful daydreams – it didn't stop his dick from jumping in his pants when Ray's blue eyes snapped open mid-moan to fix themselves on Fraser's.

It also didn't keep the low hum of arousal at bay when Ray's lips curved into a knowing smile.

The only thing missing was that he started to drool, Fraser thought rather disgusted with his spectacular lack of self-control.

Ray was drumming out the beat of the song that was playing on the radio on the steering wheel, a toothpick wedged into the corner of his mouth and a soft smile gracing his lips – Fraser took one glance at him before deciding that it was better to stare out of the windshield.

Ray was silently relieved that Fraser wasn't watching him at the moment. That man had an intensity to his gaze, Ray could almost _feel_ his look touching him, undressing him, it was a hell of a turn on and damn inconvenient most of the time.

He didn't get it. He had been so sure that he would have cracked Fraser in a matter of days –pfft, hours! Fraser's desire for him was practically radiating all over the damn place. And yet, nothing happened.

Fraser must have iron clad control – strike that, Ray _knew_ Fraser had iron clad control. Question was why was he trying so hard to keep it? You could almost see him hanging onto it by the skin of his teeth so why the fuck didn't he give in?

Ray couldn't say what he had been expecting him to do but he had reckoned with something, like, Fraser apologizing profusely or – his favorite – simply jumping him (and if he could get an apology from Fraser while he was jumping him that would mean bonus points for the Mountie – what? That guy was a world record holder in multi-tasking – it was possible).

Fraser was a stubborn, stubborn man. But if he thought that Ray had started this whole thing just to be the one doing the begging in the end after all he had another thing coming. No Mister, Ray Kowalski did not fall into his own trap, nuh-huh…

…it was just a very slight, teeny, tiny possibility though that his cock would persuade him to surrender sometime in the nearer future – the damn traitor.

It was almost as bad as being a teenager again. Ray couldn't even recall the last time he had to wank himself raw just to take the edge off it.

Ray squirmed in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position what with his dick taking an interest in his thoughts and all that. He caught Fraser gripping the Stetson just that bit tighter from the corner of his eye and smirked. Maybe Fraser would surrender first after all – but it was probably going to be a close call.

He parked the car in front of the Sherman Park outdoor pool and sighed. What kinds of freaks were living in his city that they had to investigate the freakin' lifeguard of a public swimming pool? What was wrong with those people?

"It is very well documented that people tend toward desperate actions when temperatures soar." Apparently Ray had said that last bit out loud. He scrutinized Fraser for a second, trying to figure out if Fraser had just used a very backhanded way to insult him but Fraser's look was completely neutral – a bit rough around the edges maybe (and Ray took full credit for that, thank you very much).

"Fraser, it's the beginning of July! Not exactly a heat wave, alright?"

They started their walk up the steps to the entrance.

Fraser nodded thoughtfully. "I think you're correct. Well, there are no rules that preclude lifeguards from criminal tendencies."

Ray scratched the back of his neck. "There should be. I mean, come on, this is a damn stone basin filled with chlorine water! What's the biggest crime you get at a pool? A child taking a leak in it?"

"Ray!" Fraser admonished but Ray was already stepping inside the entrance area so Fraser refrained from a more detailed rebuttal. Ray's following cackle was at least enough of an answer as to the status of Ray's amusement level. Fraser smiled in exasperation.

Ray had of course been kidding. He knew damn well why they were here. It was just beyond belief that stuff like this happened at all. This wasn't exactly better than the prostitution case from last week.

Several women had complained about feeling watched in the dressing stalls – a few even thought they had heard the click of a camera shutter – and some of the witness statements as well as the shift table of the lifeguards were hinting at Marcus Dunne as main suspect.

They entered the pool area and Fraser stopped at the first lifeguard stand and asked the woman there about Marc Dunne. She pointed to a man also dressed in white that was walking along the left-hand side of the pool.

Fraser tipped his head and they made their way over to their suspect.

Ray flashed his badge as unobtrusively as he could and nodded at Mr. Dunne. "Do you have a moment? We have a few questions."

The lifeguard threw a panicked glance from Ray to Fraser and then towards the exit.

"No reason to be alarmed Mr. Dunne. This is standard procedure. We'd just like to ask you a few questions." Fraser reassured him. Dunne nodded.

"Yeah, sure… why don't we use the office for this?" He gestured at Ray to precede him and Ray followed the length of the pool towards the building Dunne had pointed at.

Ray had barely taken two steps in that direction when Dunne shoved him from the side – Ray stumbled and tried to regain his balance but there was no more concrete to his right, only the open pool. He had barely enough time to think 'what the—' before his body plunged into the water.

He came up spluttering and coughing, his legs kicking to stay afloat. He grabbed blindly for the edge of the pool and after a couple of more kicks he finally managed to get a hold of it to pull himself up again.

Fraser was at the end of the pool, tying Mr. Dunne's hands together with the stringy bit of his uniform. Ray coughed some more – chlorine water was just foul. He'd take the damn lake water over it any day.

Fraser pulled their runaway up by the arms and escorted him over to Ray. As soon as they were close enough Ray jumped into Dunne's face.

"You give me something to work with or I'll swear to god, I will kick you in the head!"

"Ray!"

"This is assault!"

"Ray!"

"You've assaulted a police officer do you know the shit you're in now? You just wait— I'll get the charges piling up so high not even your grandchildren will be alive by the time they'll let you out again."

"RAY!"

Ray let his head hang and sighed.

"Yeah, alright. Maybe your grandchildren will live to see the day—I wouldn't bet on your children though."

"Ray, honestly."

"Alright, alright, gee! …I'm still going to kick you in the head!" He spat at Dunne who looked kinda scared by now – Ray grinned at him. How did it come that the perps always thought he was the crazy one?

"Guess you'll be coming with us to the station then, huh?" Ray didn't look particularly pleased by this development.

Well, getting thrown fully clothed into a pool and emerging from said pool dripping wet and shivering wasn't exactly creating feelings of friendship for their suspect.

They dragged Dunne to the car where Fraser attempted to open the door for him.

"Oh hell no!" Ray interrupted emphatically.

"What is it Ray?" Fraser asked confused.

"You're not getting him into the Goat. I'll call the station they can send somebody over to come and get him. I am not ruining the leather seats for this scumbag!"

"Ray, really, I don't see why—"

"Nuh-huh. My car, my rules. Huey and Dewey can take him… or somebody. I don't care." To prevent Fraser from any further arguing Ray pulled his mobile out of the car and dialed.

He exchanged a few words before snapping the phone shut again.

"They'll be here in ten. I'm going to get a towel." Ray stalked back towards the pool, muttering curses while he walked.

He returned shortly before their colleagues arrived to take Mr. Dunne to the precinct. Ray arranged the towel on the driver seat and nodded in satisfaction.

Ray straightened and pushed a hand through his wet hair. Now that there was nothing else to distract Fraser he couldn't tear his eyes away from Ray. His jeans were dark blue from the water and his white t-shirt was almost see-through, plastered to his body, the hardened buds of his nipples clearly visible through the wet fabric.

But Ray seemed to be still occupied with the safety of his upholstery and appeared completely unaware of how he looked at the moment – besides he was still pissed off at the jerk that pushed him. Walking around in soaking shoes and clammy underwear wasn't Ray's definition of 'comfortable'.

"Okay, let's go Fraser. I need fresh clothes and a hot shower."

"Ray," Fraser squared his jaw as if the rest of the sentence took some effort, "could you drop me off at the consulate on the way please?"

Ray stared at him for a moment. Fraser's voice sounded slightly higher than normal – like it did with some people when they were afraid… huh.

It wasn't cheating, Fraser decided. But excusing himself from Ray's presence was the only possible way in which he could keep his promise. If he had to stay with Ray looking like this – drenched, water sluicing down his jaw and throat, drops in his hair glittering in the sun, his jeans clinging wetly to his legs – he wouldn't be able to resist for very long.

It just wasn't humanly possible. So he wasn't actually taking the easy way out, he really wasn't; it was just a precaution so that he wouldn't overstep the line. Escaping this torture was really only a coincidental side effect.

"Fraser you and I both know that the consulate is nowhere near the route from here to my apartment."

Fraser brushed a knuckle over his eyebrow before he used the same hand to tug at his collar.

"Ah, yes, of course not." Fraser's voice sounded strangely tight.

Ray got into the driver's seat and Fraser followed into the passenger seat with a moment's hesitation.

Ray winced every time he moved. The leather would be ruined, a towel could only mop up so much water before it was soaking wet. And his shoes were making squishy noises when he hit the brake or pushed the accelerator.

Fraser was very quiet but Ray hardly noticed.

Why did he always end up in some place filled with water when he was around Fraser? He should really start taking swimming lessons – at this rate drowning seemed to be one of the higher possible ways of how he might die.

Ray pulled into the parking space in front of his building and got out. The towel had indeed soaked up most the water. He sighed in relief.

Fraser followed him into the building and up the stairs.

Okay, he could leave his shoes and socks in front of his apartment. That would minimize the cleaning up later on, Ray thought as they reached the landing of his apartment.

He toed his shoes and socks off and turned the key in the lock. He wouldn't need long, he could take a quick shower and change into dry clothes in no time – Fraser could entertain himself for a couple of minutes.

Ray walked into his living room and Fraser stopped in the doorway.

First things first, get the wet clothes off and then you can grab that shower, Ray told himself. The laundry basked should be lying around somewhere here, too. He looked around while he started to pull his shirt off.

"Ray…"

Huh? Ray had completely forgotten about Fraser here for a moment. He finished pulling his shirt over his head and turned around to look at him.

He was surprised to see Fraser with such a pained expression on his face. Had the dirtbag hurt him before Fraser had managed to restrain him? Why hadn't he said anything? That stubborn Mountie, one day…

Ray walked over to him, already barefoot and shirtless but the rest of his undressing could wait until he had made sure that Fraser was okay.

He stopped close to him and put a hand out to touch Fraser's arm.

"Don't—please, Ray." Fraser's fingers were white where they were gripping the doorjamb. "I-I can't – I simply won't be able to hold back if you touch me now." Fraser looked as if he was hurting. "So please, don't." It was almost a whisper.

And suddenly Ray was right there with him, back again on the same page.

"Make me," he growled and Fraser's eyes widened in shock. Fraser looked at him, really looked at him and took everything in – the intense look in Ray's eyes, the suddenly fast pace of his breathing and the challenging smile on his lips.

_Abandon all hope, ye who enter here_ Fraser thought wildly – there was no stopping this now. His hand snatched out to curl around Ray's neck and he pulled him closer, his left hand reached up to entangle itself in Ray's short spikes, running his fingers through the wet strands.

Fraser pressed Ray close to himself and Ray's eyes fluttered shut— Fraser's hand travelled down over his naked back and Ray moaned softly. Suddenly Fraser's feverishly hot lips pressed against his own and a wet tongue invaded his mouth, plunging inside as if Fraser had been starving for it and Ray opened his mouth wider, trying to take more of that tongue in, entangling his own with Fraser's.

Fraser pulled back far enough to pant against Ray's lips, "I tried Ray," he brushed his lips against Ray's again and Ray tried to keep the contact but Fraser pulled away again. Ray groaned in frustration. His own hands were fisted into Fraser's serge with not even an inch between them.

"I really tried," strong fingers pressed into Ray's shoulder blades and he pushed himself closer still against Fraser. "I restrained myself, you don't know how much effort it took to bear this but—"

Ray didn't want to listen to this anymore. He claimed Fraser's lips again, pushing his tongue almost cruelly into Fraser's mouth but Fraser only growled deep in his throat and answered the kiss with the same need –Fraser's hands were everywhere, roaming over every inch of skin they could reach and Ray broke the kiss, gasping for air.

He focused on Fraser's eyes for a second, the wild, turned on look was damn intoxicating – if Fraser ever looked like that in public he would not make it out of there alive, the masses would tear him apart trying to get a piece of him.

"I'm sor—" Fraser murmured, eyes fixed on Ray's lips and Ray pressed another brutal kiss onto his lips, smothering the apology. "Jesus, Fraser!" Ray panted against his lips.

"Didn't mean to turn you into a martyr," and he used the opportunity to push his fingers through Fraser's hair, gripping tightly to pull Fraser's head to the side so Ray could place a bite at the side of his throat.

"You don't have to make yourself suffer like that, Frase…," he pressed his hip against Fraser, glorying in the gasp this pulled from Fraser's lips—_god_, he wanted to make him scream, talk himself raw, he didn't care… but Fraser making those sounds was such a head trip Ray felt drunk from it.

"You got to take what you want one of these days," Ray murmured before his tongue dived in for another taste of Fraser's lips. _Jesus—_ Fraser had one wicked tongue Ray thought dizzily, gripping Fraser's arms in an effort to stay upright while Fraser took his time fucking his mouth.

Fraser sucked on his tongue and a low moan escaped Ray's lips. Fraser's fingers framed Ray's face and he looked at him with something akin to fear.

"Ray I—what—" he stumbled over his words.

Ray grinned at him and leaned forward to whisper dirtily into his ear, "touch me" he murmured with a flick of his tongue –and that was all the invitation Fraser needed to let go of the last bit of restraint.

With a moan his hands went back to exploring, over Ray's back, along his shoulders and back down again to grab his ass and pull him closer.

Ray's hips jerked forward at the touch, pressing him into Fraser's groin and Ray panted open-mouthed against Fraser's ear at the feeling of Fraser's erection through the damn pumpkin pants.

Ray's fingers clawed at the uniform but he was too impatient to fiddle with all the buckles and buttons, instead he just pushed his fingers underneath the tunic as far as he could, sneaking his fingers underneath the henley and finally—just a glimpse of skin, soft underneath his fingertips.

Ray was pretty sure he had never felt anything as erotic in all his life and Fraser gave a choked off sob and pressed his mouth against Ray's with a desperation that made Ray's head spin—but he wasn't complaining.

He simply pushed back, dueling with Fraser's tongue, biting at his bottom lip and suddenly they had a rhythm going and Ray's mind went toofast-toofast-toofast and gimmegimmegimme and Fraser was obviously also fine with finally getting some release the way he was pressing his cock against Ray's.

He could definitely do with some air but Fraser's mouth was still sealed over his and that tongue was still stroking inside of his mouth so Ray panted harshly through his nose, not wanting to lose this connection and Fraser's crooked tooth worried his bottom lip until a groan made Fraser shake from head to foot and then he jerked against Ray and Ray pressed eagerly closer, grinding against Fraser so that he was pressed firmly against the doorjamb.

And Fraser bit at his jaw and Ray rocked forward with the force of his climax, gasping wetly for air, Fraser's name on his lips with every stuttering breath he took. He mouthed Fraser's throat, still tingling with his orgasm and Fraser was shaking ever so slightly, all the while nuzzling Ray's hair.

Suddenly Ray couldn't keep it in any more, he started to laugh. First quietly but soon enough his whole body was shaking with mirth. Fraser raised his eyebrows, an amused smile on his lips.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly and Ray shook his head before nodding.

"Yeah, no, it's… Fraser, we're still dressed!" Ray said astonished. Fraser's lips quirked into a small grin before he blushed softly.

"Ah, yes. It would appear so."

"You know that this doesn't count?"

"It doesn't?" Fraser raised his eyebrows. Hoping that this didn't mean—

"Yeah, coming in your pants while dry humping someone does not count as sex once you're over fifteen…seventeen max if you were a geek like me… or grew up in a freezer," Ray grinned lopsidedly at him.

Fraser smiled in relief. So Ray didn't intend to resume their… challenge.

Ray's gaze softened suddenly. "Come 'ere." He put his hands on the back of Fraser's head and pulled his face closer.

The kiss was slow, languid—Ray's tongue probed deeper, taking his time to taste every inch of Fraser's mouth, their tongues touching again and again. Ray was rubbing soft circles into the back of his head and Fraser moaned softly against Ray's lips, his own arms came up to encircle Ray's body as completely as possible.

Fraser had no idea how long their kissing lasted, all he knew was that he could taste Ray when he licked his own lips and that Ray kissed just like he did everything else –whole heartedly, with everything he had to give, passionate.

Ray's tongue licked over his bottom lip, slipping back into Fraser's mouth as if it belonged there and Fraser pulled him closer, entwining their tongues until he felt Ray beginning to pant and pull away.

"Jesus—jesus, Fraser," he murmured spell bound. Fraser could only nod silently, his throat felt too tight with emotion to squeeze a word past.

Fraser shifted his weight from one foot to the other and winced slightly at the congealed, cold wetness in his pants. Ray smirked before mirroring his expression.

"Shower. Definitely, before I catch my death here – which would just suck, I tell you."

"I suppose it would," Fraser replied seriously but Ray saw the humor in his eyes and whacked him softly upside the head. "Take a shower with me?" It was said bold, a teasing tone underneath but Ray looked endearingly shy the way he waited for his answer – as if there was any doubt about it.

Fraser closed his hand around Ray's and marveled at the feeling of connectedness between them. He pulled Ray behind him into the bathroom.

Fraser pushed the shower curtain aside and adjusted the temperature of the spray. When he turned back around he found Ray staring at him with a hungry look on his face.

"Get undressed, Benton-buddy." Fraser was momentarily confused at the gleefulness of Ray's tone but he complied anyway. Removing the Sam Browne, the lanyard, the tunic until he finally reached his henley.

Ray's eyes were sparkling with mischief. "You have no idea how many late night fantasies I'm able to fulfill right now – and I don't mean just my own."

Fraser stopped undressing in bewilderment. "As flattered as I am to hear that you have indeed harbored this kind of fantasies about me," he rubbed a knuckle over his eyebrow, "would you care to explain what you mean with 'not just your own'?"

Ray stretched expansively and Fraser's eyes were instantly drawn to the stretch of Ray's skin and the way the fabric of his jeans pulled tight.

"Fraser, everyone who's met you has a late night fantasy about you undressing."

Fraser looked affronted. "They have not."

Ray stepped a foot closer and pulled the henley out of the pants. "Mhm you better believe me. But I don't care… cuz I'm the only one that gets to see it live in technicolor." Ray grinned and helped Fraser pull the shirt over his head.

Fraser wanted to contradict him – surely it was only Ray's overactive imagination that had him believe that others were entertaining such thoughts as well – but before he could even open his mouth Ray had already stepped back and opened his own fly and started to undress the rest of the way.

As if in trance his own hands mirrored Ray's actions. When he straightened again Ray's eyes went hot. Fraser felt his ears beginning to heat. Seeing Ray naked like this was almost too much to be real.

Ray smiled shyly at him but he didn't try to cover his erection and Fraser's mouth started to water – he knew the drooling had been only a matter of time.

Ray walked the last remaining step and put his arms around him; kissing him deeply and Fraser couldn't help but rub against Ray. They broke the kiss, both moaning at the friction until Ray finally managed to gasp "shower".

He stepped into the bathtub and Fraser followed behind him. Ray started to turn around but Fraser's arms came around him and pulled him flush against his chest. "_God_…Fraser," Ray gasped.

Fraser bit softly at the flesh where the neck met the shoulder and Ray groaned and let his head drop forward.

Fraser's hands roamed across his chest, smoothing the water that was sloshing from the shower head over his skin, while his cock was nestled tantalizingly against the cleft of Ray's ass. Ray wriggled a bit and Fraser smothered his moan in Ray's neck.

"Ray… soap," Fraser croaked and Ray chuckled darkly. Fraser held his hand out in front of him and Ray upturned the bottle of shower gel to dribble some of its content out. Fraser lathered his hands before he returned them to Ray's skin. Ray moaned appreciatively at the touch of those strong hands that were spreading the soap all over his body.

Ray closed his eyes, felt the water pound down on him and concentrated on the feeling of Fraser's fingers on his skin. The slippery glide over his skin was sure, Fraser mapped out the contours of Ray's body—carefully neglecting Ray's erection and Ray tried to push his cock into Fraser's hand whenever it came close but it never touched him.

"Tease," Ray said hoarsely and for a moment Fraser's brow creased, gauging Ray's reaction but he didn't seem to mind—was in fact opening himself to Fraser's touch as much as possible, offering every inch of skin to Fraser's exploring fingers.

Maybe Ray didn't mind the teasing in itself, he smiled into the crook of Ray's shoulder. "I thought we had already established that," he murmured, his warm lips tracing the soft hairs at the back of Ray's neck.

Ray groaned at the touch and Fraser's left hand started to draw slow circles over Ray's abdomen—Ray gasped but Fraser was careful not to touch his hard-on.

"Are you getting even?" Ray moaned, widening his stance to push firmly into Fraser's touch. The fingers trailed away from that deliciously close spot. "I thought we were even, Ray" Fraser almost growled. And Ray felt a shiver running down his spine and then those hands stopped moving completely.

"Even—Jesus, we're even, doesn't get any evener Fraser!" Ray gasped, jerking his hips helplessly, trying to get some friction, some touch, just please—and then Fraser's hand was finally—finally—on his cock.

The smooth feeling of Fraser's soapy fingers had Ray cry out in pleasure but Fraser didn't let himself be rushed through this. One hand closed loosely around Ray's testicles, spreading the soap and Ray bit his lips to keep from shouting. Fraser's right hand pulled in lazy strokes on Ray's cock and a whimper escaped his lips when Fraser's thumb flicked over the head, gently massaging the soap into the skin.

"Touch me—please—you gotta, Fraser you gotta—" Ray started rambling pushing forward into the lose circle of Fraser's fist before he ground back, pressing his ass against Fraser's erection and was answered with another deep moan.

Suddenly the hand cupping his testicles left him—a second later he felt fingertips pressing along his crack, Ray moaned pushing back firmly and Fraser's breathing turned obscenely loud against the rushing of the water, hot breath tickling Ray's ear before Ray finally felt a finger entering him.

He groaned at the intrusion, relaxing his muscles and pressed back—taking more in.

"Ray, almost 70 percent of accidents in the home occur in the bathroom," Fraser's voice sounded like gravel when he murmured directly into Ray's ear and Ray huffed out a laugh that turned into a loud moan when a second finger joined the first.

Ray struggled to find his voice. "Y-you urge me off of 50 feet cliffs," he panted while the fingers inside of him started scissoring, "ahh… when I can't even swim—Fraser," the name rose up into a moan, "but you're—you're worried—" Ray struggled through the rest of his sentence, "that I'll break my neck slipping in the shower?"

Ray felt the answering smile against his back. "Right you are," Fraser said in a low voice before he crooked his finger and Ray's hips snapped forward on their own accord.

"Jesus!" Ray cried out before it turned into a steady moan when the fingers flicked against that spot again and again.

Ray braced himself with his hands against the wall to support his weight. He raised his ass higher to give Fraser more room and was rewarded with a groan.

"Ray—you look… god, Ray…" Fraser sounded breathless and Ray turned his head, wanting to catch the expression on his face.

Fraser was biting his lip, a hazy look in his eyes, the perfect picture of debauchery and Ray swallowed hard against the wave of lust that washed over him.

Fraser's eyes dropped again to the movement of his fingers and Ray felt a flash of shame imagining how dirty he must look, with those fingers opening him up, entering his body, deeper with every thrust and him just taking it, begging for it with his body—arousal hit Ray so hard his jaw went slack with desire, his breath coming in pants and Fraser used the relaxing of the muscles to push another finger in.

Ray's groan was answered by one from Fraser. "_Ray_," the name was dragged from his throat with a hint of desperation. "I need—god—can I—"

Ray didn't even let him finish. He was nodding frantically, gasping, "Yes, yes—come on—just, _god_," he let his head drop again with a particular strong thrust of Fraser's fingers, "comeoncomeoncomeon Fraser, fuck me already," his voice almost cracking and Fraser's hand was shaky when he reached for the bottle of conditioner.

Fraser scanned the list of ingredients, it wasn't the best sort of lubrication for this but it would do as a substitute—it would at least make it a bit easier.

Ray's low chuckle of "You're a freak" ended in a moan when Ray felt Fraser's cock pushing in. Fraser was quietly chanting Ray's name, pushing in inch by inch in one slow thrust and Ray spread his legs further, trying to relax his muscles.

Fraser pushed in the remaining inch until he was pressed flush against Ray's ass; his hands were rubbing the skin of Ray's back, soothing him. "Ray," just his name spoken in such wonderment and Fraser was still keeping motionless, giving him time to adapt.

Ray felt completely overwhelmed, feeling Fraser inside of him—so very intimate—had him drowning in emotions—lust, need, want, love, tenderness all mixed up and indistinguishable until the need became the most pronounced and Ray pushed back against Fraser.

Fraser's control snapped with Ray's movement, his fingers dug into Ray's side when he pulled out only to slam back in a second later and Ray cried out hoarsely. It was unmistakable that Fraser was staking a claim, pushing in deep and hard again and again and Ray could barely draw a breath he was so turned on.

"Harder, god, _Fraser_, harder," he choked and Fraser complied with a snarl, snapping his hips forward almost brutally and Ray moaned—wanting this to last, for Fraser to penetrate him as deeply as possible, to be able to feel this for days—hell, forever if he could.

He wanted to touch his cock that was pulsing with every thrust against his prostate but he didn't dare take his hand away from the wall thinking he would probably smash his head in if he let go even one hand. Instead he moaned desperately, hoping that Fraser could translate this into _touch me, touch me, let me come_.

And Fraser's thrusts sped up, short, deep thrusts at a frantic pace and Ray was shouting Fraser's name and chanting _pleasepleaseplease_ and Fraser curled his hand around Ray's cock, stroking it almost greedily and Ray gnashed his teeth and snarled, snapping his hips into Fraser's hand and his climax finally overtook him, come splattering against the tiles, his muscles contracting and Fraser pushed in deep before he started shaking, shooting into Ray, his strong arms encircling Ray's chest and pulling him close.

Ray turned his head as much as possible, searching for Fraser's lips. His cock twitched when their tongues met and Ray felt connected in any way possible, Fraser's cock still deep inside of him and Fraser's tongue in his mouth.

Fraser pulled back, looking a bit shaken, too; eyes a dark blue and he pressed another short kiss on Ray's lips. "I love you," he whispered and Ray pulled him in for another kiss.

Ray released him with a soft moan. "I love you, too… you know that, right?" And Fraser smiled brilliantly at him before ducking his head and nodding shyly. Ray's lips curved into a gentle smile.

This position was way too uncomfortable to stay in for long and Ray started squirming, wincing slightly when Fraser pulled out. He felt the come dribbling out and gasped when he felt Fraser's fingers at his hole again.

"_Fraser_," Ray moaned warningly but Fraser's fingers were only circling gently, dipping in softly.

"Just checking I didn't hurt you," Fraser murmured and Ray started shaking his head. "I'm good, Frase. I don't break that easy." Fraser smiled and pulled Ray into an embrace.

Ray snuggled closer and relaxed for another minute before scrunching up his nose at the pruney look of his fingers.

"Fraser, let's get dry okay?" Fraser nodded and turned the water off.

Once they were dry and dressed again Ray glanced at the clock and grinned.

"I'd say shift's over by now."

"Ah," Fraser looked properly embarrassed.

"Stay awhile?" Ray asked quietly.

Fraser's answering smile was soft, the kind of smile you saw on people when they were presented with the very gift they had wanted all their life but hadn't really expected to receive so they still couldn't fully believe it.

"Yes."

So Fraser could do simple and direct after all. Ray grinned. This could work. Teasing was much more fun if you could make good on your promises at the end of the day anyway.

And Ray would make damn sure that Fraser would put his money where his mouth was should he start licking things again tomorrow. Ray might even be willing to give a hands-on demonstration first.

That night between kisses Fraser remembered something.

"Ray?"

"Hm?" Ray was drawing lazy circles on Fraser's collar bone with his tongue.

"That night when you called me at the consulate… how did you make your voice sound so smoky? I have to admit you were driving me insane with it. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

Ray's movement of his tongue stilled.

"Uhm…" Now what? "I'd rather not say." Ray laughed at Fraser's perplexed expression.

"Excuse me?"

"A true master never reveals his tricks, Frase," Ray winked at him. "It's no fun if you know all my secrets."

"I see," Fraser didn't look like he believed that for a second but he seemed to accept it nonetheless.

Ray pulled him in for another kiss before Fraser could come up with any more potentially dangerous questions.

Every relationship needed its secrets. It was healthy. At least it was healthier for Ray to keep this particular one.

"_And though the cold, cold Ivory Tower was stony through and through  
>I laid and dreamed on a featherbed, my dream was of you<br>My dream was of you..."_

- Ivory Tower by Blackmore's Night


End file.
